1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to headgear having a faceguard that is provided with shock absorbing means and to a shock absorber suitable for use as the shock absorbing means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The health effects of concussions, including repeated minor concussions, suffered by athletes engaged in sports where there is a substantial risk of severe impacts to the athlete's head and face have become a major concern to the athletes, sports teams, governing bodies of sports leagues, and the public in recent years. Impacts to the head may also cause neck injuries that are sometimes severe enough to cause the athlete to become paralyzed. This is particularly a concern with impacts directed frontally toward the face. Athletes in such sports have traditionally worn protective headgear in the form of a hard helmet with a facemask rigidly attached to the helmet. Soft cushioning pads are provided inside the helmet around the wearer's head excluding the facial area. In some other sports, for example baseball, the protective headgear is simply a rigid facemask with cushioning padding on the outer frame that is held against the area around the wearer's face. Although the traditional headgear does mitigate the effect of impacts to the head and neck to some extent, they do not reduce the risk of head or neck injury to the desired degree. Accordingly, protective headgear having shock absorbing elements between the faceguard portion and the head-engaging portion of the headgear have been proposed in the prior art to further reduce the risk of injury. However, none of the prior art headgear with shock absorbing faceguards have been widely adopted. The need remains for a shock absorber for use with the faceguard of headgear that is robust enough, compact enough, unobtrusive enough, and adaptable enough for large scale adoption. The need also remains for headgear that can effectively incorporate such a shock absorber. There is also a need for headgear that will keep the shock absorber well protected. None of the prior art headgear are seen to teach or suggest the unique features of the present invention or to achieve the advantages of the present invention that will become apparent from the description and drawings that follow.